Vehicle occupancy verification utilizing proximity confirmation

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a method and system to verify carpool occupancy compliance for access to High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, High Occupancy or Toll (HOT) lanes, or other vehicle-occupancy contingent rewards. The present invention uses software and hardware devices with radio-frequency transmitter modules to permit “matchmaking” between suitable drivers and riders while using GPS coordinates to confirm passenger proximity to a driver. This driver-rider co-location is performed via push notification and server analysis of driver and rider GPS data. Alternatively, co-location is performed using a combination of GPS data analysis and photographic analysis. Occupancy compliance rewards can be communicated directly to an appropriate regulatory body.

COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction of the patent document or thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Officepatent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

BACKGROUND

More and more Department of Transportation (DOT) jurisdictions seek tocreate incentives for carpooling such as access to High OccupancyVehicle (HOV) lanes on public highways. Such HOV lanes permit use onlywhen a vehicle is being used to transport multiple occupants. One of thechallenges with dedicating a lane to such “carpooling”, particularly inthe introductory phase when there are not many carpoolers, is theresulting, and politically unpopular, increased congestion in theremaining, regular lanes.

To help mitigate this issue, many jurisdictions are introducing HOVlanes as High occupancy OR Toll (HOT) lanes to provide paid access tothe lanes for single-occupant vehicles. While paid access to HOT lanescan be less democratic than access to lanes based solely upon occupancy,use of HOT lanes can be more politically acceptable. This is becauseoverall traffic congestion resolution theoretically becomesself-regulating: some drivers will opt to pay a toll to access areserved lane when congestion is high.

An additional carpooling incentive can take the form of access toprivate toll roads, with such access also being based upon paidadmission. While carpooling can erode the profitability of tollhighways, the availability of carpooling on private toll roads can helpto alleviate overall traffic volume while simultaneously leading tolower road maintenance and lane expansion costs.

One of the biggest challenges in a municipality's introduction of acarpool lane is its being able to enforce a carpool occupancyrequirement and, in the case of HOT lane access, knowing the identity ofthe party to be billed for single occupancy access. While technologyexists to use photo confirmation to determine occupancy, thesetechnologies often produce questionable confirmations that subsequentlyrequire human operator intervention post lane-access. Periodically, suchtechnologies lead to incorrect billing, resulting in a costly andtime-consuming review process.

Alternatively, drivers may employ transponder-based systems that requiredriver input prior to beginning a shared ride. Before approaching averification point, a driver using a transponder system must remember toindicate carpool activity, usually by activating a switch on histransponder. In some cases the driver is required to switch off thetransponder to force a “photo exception” to the existing transpondersystem. This reliance on driver input can lead to system failure incases where a driver fails to timely or properly indicate carpoolactivity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain illustrative embodiments illustrating organization and method ofoperation, together with objects and advantages may be best understoodby reference detailed description that follows taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a system diagram for an exemplary system operation consistentwith certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram for the determination of sufficiency ofaward criteria using mobile device GPS data and communication of same byserver operation consistent with certain embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram for verification of vehicle occupancyconsistent with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram for the determination of sufficiency ofaward criteria using one or more mobile device digital images andcommunication of the same by server operation consistent with certainembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetail specific embodiments, with the understanding that the presentdisclosure of such embodiments is to be considered as an example of theprinciples and not intended to limit the invention to the specificembodiments shown and described. In the description below, likereference numerals are used to describe the same, similar orcorresponding parts in the several views of the drawings.

The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one, or more thanone. The term “plurality”, as used herein, is defined as two, or morethan two. The term “another”, as used herein, is defined as at least asecond or more. The terms “including” and/or “having”, as used herein,are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term “coupled”, asused herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly,and not necessarily mechanically.

Reference throughout this document to “one embodiment”, “certainembodiments”, “an exemplary embodiment” or similar terms means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of thepresent invention. Thus, the appearances of such phrases or in variousplaces throughout this specification are not necessarily all referringto the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments without limitation.

References herein to “device” indicate electronic devices that includebut are not limited to, a radio frequency (RF) transmitter, a mobilephone, a laptop, an electronic tablet, or any personal digitalassistance device.

References to “verification” indicate an objective process forconfirming user input to a device.

References to “validation point” indicate any physical location where arequest for verification could logically be made.

References to “rewards” indicate special privileges or access to specialprivileges that result from successful verification of user input.

References to “photo” indicate a digital visual representation of avehicle's passenger area.

References to “GPS” indicate reference to the Global Positioning System(GPS) space-based radio-navigation satellite array and associatedtechnologies.

References to “riders” or “multiple riders” in a vehicle refers to 2, 3,or more riders depending upon the capacity of the vehicle.

Urban and suburban dwellers often seek shared transportation options forreasons as diverse as economy in travel expenses, shared responsibilityin vehicle operation, and human companionship during a commute. Inmetropolitan areas where traffic congestion is rife, local authoritiesoften incentivize shared transportation options in order to relievetraffic congestion and reduce expensive road maintenance. Setting asidespecial travel lanes for multi-occupant “carpooling” vehicles is onesuch incentive that municipalities employ. Vehicles with certainestablished occupancies are permitted unfettered access tolesser-travelled High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) or High Occupancy/Toll(HOT) lanes, theoretically minimizing travel delays due to trafficcongestion. Such delay minimization is a coveted reward for those whochoose to carpool.

Because of the desirability of designated HOV and HOT lane access,municipalities must adopt systems and procedures to track, prevent andmanage abuse of such lane access. Existing systems of ensuringcompliance with rules regarding High Occupancy lane access rely onself-reporting, photographic verification, or post-billing adjudication.

Drivers and riders who wish to carpool may not know of each other or maynot share compatible commuting schedules. For instance, even if twocommuters are aware of each other, a vehicle driven by Driver A andbound for mid-town at 6:00 am may not prove a suitable match for Rider Bneeding to arrive in mid-town at 6:00 pm. Consequently, a need existsfor a system and method for verifying carpool compliance using softwareand hardware devices that permit “matchmaking” between suitable driversand riders while confirming passenger proximity to a driver.

In an embodiment, the invention described herein is a mobile-deviceapplication that uses user interfaces and GPS software to provide a listof prospective drivers with known travel itineraries to any number ofpotential riders. Riders can flag drivers based upon criteria such asexactness of itinerary match and prior rider reviews of drivers. Driverscan accept or reject specific riders as matches.

In an embodiment, while transponders identify the vehicle, the RideFlag®system identifies vehicle occupancy and location. In an embodiment, theRideFlag® system confirms the presence of two or more occupants within asingle vehicle when drivers and riders use the application on HOT lanes,even for free rides with no other incentive than access to the HOV/HOTlane toll free. The RideFlag® system provides the platform tocollaborate with jurisdictions and Toll Highway operators to confirmoccupancy.

In an exemplary embodiment, riders and drivers may use the RideFlag®application to establish carpools on an as-needed basis with no carpoolregistration required. The RideFlag® system is totally dynamic in thatcarpools are created and identified at the singular transaction level.In a non-limiting example, a carpool can exist for a single instance ofa paired ride, as well as for other groups of riders and lengths ofrides. The identification of the carpool is automatically known by theRideFlag® system. In this exemplary embodiment, the platform identifiesthe occupants, the route and time of access. The RideFlag® server maythen publish this confirmation to each of the relevant highway operatorsimmediately post the access, complementing the existing photoconfirmation systems and eliminating the need for human confirmation forRideFlag® application users.

Once drivers and riders have accepted matches, each is notified of thelocation of the other through use of GPS data associated with thedriver's and rider's mobile devices. Once drivers and riders arephysically within one vehicle, the GPS data can be analyzed to verifyco-location of the driver and rider(s).

In an embodiment, this co-location verification takes place at atemporal validation point, at which time the rider receives a pushnotification to share the GPS data on his device, giving evidence as tothe physical location of the device. The driver's GPS coordinates areknown to the application (app), since the driver keeps his app open forthe duration of a trip. A first server compares the GPS data from bothdevices and if resulting comparison evidences co-location of devices,the co-location is considered to be verified. Confirmation of suchverified co-location can then be submitted to appropriate regulatorybodies for the doling of a reward, such as permitted HOV or HOT access,or permitted preferred parking, or other rewards that may be provided bythe transportation authority or additional entities partnering with thetransportation authority. The system in in its entirety is referred toas the RideFlag® application.

In an embodiment, the invention described herein is a method ofverifying commuter vehicle occupancy by establishing communicationbetween a server and one or more mobile devices, determining thephysical locations of each of said mobile devices, verifying said mobiledevices are co-located, determining whether said proximity conforms toone or more pre-determined values, delivering communications from theserver to a secondary server (like one operated by or on behalf of aregulatory body), and delivering communications from the server to saidmobile devices. Verification of vehicle occupancy may be affectedthrough analysis of one or more photographic representations of thevehicle passenger compartment.

In an alternate embodiment of the invention, a system of verifyingcommuter vehicle occupancy is described. The system may include a userinterface, a server having a processor in wireless communication withone or more mobile devices, and a software module operative to determinethe physical locations of the mobile devices. In use, the serververifies co-location of the mobile devices, delivers communications fromthe server to a secondary server (like one operated by or on behalf of aregulatory body), and delivers communications from the server to a userinterface display on any one of the mobile devices.

The system and method described herein identifies vehicle occupancy andlocation as a natural product of the RideFlag® transportationapplication. The application confirms the presence of two or moreoccupants when drivers and riders simply use the app to matchprospective drivers with prospective riders. When used with respect toHOT or HOV lane access, RideFlag® provides the platform to collaboratewith jurisdictions and Toll Highway operators to confirm vehicleoccupancy.

In an alternative embodiment, the RideFlag® application may permit theuse of free or discounted access to HOT lanes to vehicles in which thereis only one verified person based upon special considerations. Suchspecial considerations may include, but are not limited to, premiumaccess based upon a specified number of paid uses of the HOT lane,special discounts for particular dates or times, a reward offered by theoperator of the HOT lane, or any other special consideration defined bythe authority operating the HOT lane. In a non-limiting example, avehicle with a single driver may be permitted to use the HOT lane afteraccumulating 10 authorized uses of the HOT lane, meeting all conditionsof such use. Additionally, an authority operating a HOT lane may permituse of the HOT lane to single driver vehicles, or vehicles that do notmeet all of the conditions for use of a particular HOT lane, to userswith a mobile device in the vehicle that has been certified as having aspecial premium established by the authority operating the HOT lane eventhough the user of the mobile device in the vehicle may not be thedriver of the vehicle.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a system diagram for an exemplary systemoperation consistent with certain embodiments of the present inventionis shown. During matchmaking 100, driver's device 102 and rider's device104 are paired based upon data provided by the users of the devices,such as destination, desired times of departure and arrival, and feeamounts. Once paired 105, driver's device 102 and rider's device 104enter commence travel phase 106. Commence Travel phase 106 includesdriver and rider meeting in physical space and beginning travel to amutually-agreed upon destination. Upon reaching discrete validationpoints 108, driver's device 102 and rider's device 104 are triggered bya first server 109 to provide first server 109 with GPS coordinates todetermine whether devices are co-located. If the devices associated withthe driver and one or more riders are determined to be co-located at107, and if first server 109 determines that reward requirements aremet, first server 109 confirms reward status with second server (ownedor controlled by the reward grantor, such as a regulatory agency,transportation authority, or a partner to these entities) and with atleast driver's device 102. Upon confirmation of the reward status,rewards may be transmitted to a driver 110.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a process flow for the determination of awardcriteria consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention isshown. In an embodiment, a rider verifies his GPS coordinates at avalidation point 112. At 114, the system server compares rider's GPScoordinates to driver's known GPS coordinates. From this information,the server may determine if the driver and rider(s) are currentlyco-located 115. At 116, the server determines if the necessary rewardcriteria have been met. Most commonly, reward criteria would involve thenumber of occupants in a car associated with a time of day. The numberof occupants in a car may be determined by the number of RF signalsdetected at a validation point, or by photo evidence provided by any oneof the detected mobile devices associated with an RF signal that iscollocated with the driver's mobile device. At 118, the server sendsdetermination regarding satisfaction of reward criteria to theappropriate regulatory authority, transportation authority or partner,the rider(s), and the driver.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a process flow diagram for verification ofvehicle occupancy is shown. In an embodiment, at 130, the ridecommences, with the driver and rider beginning the trip to any rewardpoint or rider destination. At 132, the driver's device comes withindetection distance of a validation point which may then trigger a serverrequest for verification of the number of car occupants. In anon-limiting example, such a validation point would typically bepositioned immediately prior to HOV or HOT lane access. In the casewhere the reward is a preferred parking spot instead of special laneaccess, the validation point may be positioned at a parking lot entranceor parking garage entrance.

In an embodiment, at 134, in cases where the number of RFtransmitter-equipped devices (i.e.: smartphones, or other RFtransmitting devices) equals the number of individuals collocated in avehicle, which includes the driver and all riders, the first serversends a push notification to each individual to respond with GPScoordinates of the location of each RF transmitter-equipped device. Thisresponse from each individual permits the RideFlag® server to determinetheir proximity to the driver of the vehicle. At 136, if all respondentsare determined to be within a set distance that indicates they are closeenough to the driver that they are within the driver's vehicle, theRideFlag® system may verify that the occupancy requirements have beenmet for the driver's vehicle 138. These responses provide for theverification of the number of riders within the vehicle and provide averification step for occupancy in the vehicle.

In an embodiment, at 140, in cases where the number of RFtransmitter-equipped devices is smaller than the number of riders, adifferent method of verification may be required. In this exemplaryembodiment, one of the riders (passengers) may be instructed to send aphoto of vehicle occupants time-stamped with the time of the driver'sdevice that triggered the verification request at the encounteredvalidation point 142. Uploading the time-stamped photo to the serverpermits the photo verification of the number of occupants in a vehicleutilizing existing photo verification systems 144. The server mayutilize the photo verification of the occupants of the vehicle toprovide the occupancy verification step for the vehicle.

In this exemplary embodiment, at 146, if the first server determinesthat the driver and the riders have met occupancy requirements byverifying the proximity of each occupant to the driver of the vehicle, areward may be triggered 148. If the first server determines that thedriver and riders have failed proximity requirements, a failure noticeis triggered. If the reward grantor suspects that the driver hasfalsified the proximity requirements the server may label this action as“cheating” the system. In a non-limiting example, and not by way oflimitation, one condition the server may label as “cheating” may beusing multiple phones not associated to physical individuals to attemptto establish that there are an equal number of RF-transmitting devicesand individuals collocated within a single vehicle. If the serverdetermines that an action or activity that may be labeled as “Cheating”has occurred, the server may require the performance of a dualvalidation activity, such as requiring both GPS push notificationresponses and photo identification. At 146, the server performs dualvalidation with post-event reply requests during a time interval when itwould be unlikely or illogical for two or more devices associated withseparate, physical individuals to be co-located.

At 150, if the reward grantor is satisfied that that the occupancy ofthe vehicle has been properly verified, and that the driver is not“cheating” in some fashion, the reward grantor may then transmit thereward certificate, notification, validation, or permission to thedriver of the vehicle.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a process flow for an alternate determination ofaward criteria consistent with certain embodiments of the presentinvention is shown. In an embodiment, a device having an RF transmitterand associated with a driver communicates its physical location to anapplication server at 160. At 164, a rider sends a verification photo ofall vehicle occupants to the application server from the GPS coordinatescorresponding to a validation point. At 168, the application serverdetermines the number of occupants that are present in the vehicle inthe verification photo. At 172 the application server determines if thenumber of occupants satisfies the reward criteria. At 176 theapplication server sends a determination regarding satisfaction ofreward criteria to the appropriate regulatory authority, transportationauthority or other authorized entity, the rider, and the driver. Theregulatory authority, transportation authority, or other authorizedentity may then issue a certificate or any other verificationacknowledgement instituted for use by the issuing authority that thereward will be provided to a person associated with the vehicle, wherethe person associated with the vehicle may include a driver, a rider, orother authorized person such as, in a non-limited example, the owner ofthe vehicle.

While certain illustrative embodiments have been described, it isevident that many alternatives, modifications, permutations andvariations will become apparent to those skilled in the art in light ofthe foregoing description.

We claim:
 1. A method of verifying commuter vehicle occupancy,comprising: establishing communication between a server and one or moremobile devices; determining the physical locations of each of saidmobile devices; determining that said mobile devices are co-locatedwithin a vehicle; verifying said co-location of said mobile devices bydetecting a number of Radio Frequency (RF) signals from said one or moremobile devices at a validation point, and verifying that the number ofRF signals detected equals a number of said one or more mobile deviceswithin said vehicle; determining whether said co-location produces aproximity value that conforms to one or more pre-determined values; apassenger located within said commuter vehicle collecting a digitalphotograph of all occupants in said commuter vehicle at said validationpoint; transmitting said digital photograph to said server to verifythat a number of occupants in said commuter vehicle is equal to orgreater than the number of RF signals detected within said commutervehicle; delivering communications from the server to a secondaryserver; and delivering communications in the form of a push notificationfrom the server to individuals associated with said mobile devices andrequiring a response from each of said individuals receiving said pushnotification.
 2. The method of claim 1, where the proximity conforms tothe value of being within a pre-determined distance of the driver of amotor vehicle.
 3. The method of claim 1, where the determination of saidproximity of said physical locations is made in part throughidentification GPS coordinates for the physical location of said one ormore mobile devices as being within a pre-set physical boundary thatcorresponds to a motor vehicle.
 4. The method of claim 1 where thedetermination of said proximity of said physical locations is made inpart through analysis of a time-stamped photographic image.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 where communication to said secondary server serves ascommunication with a vehicle regulatory body such as a department ofmotor vehicles, department of transportation, or other identifiedauthority.
 6. The method of claim 1 where the mobile devices include anydevice equipped with a radio frequency (RF) transmitter capability.
 7. Asystem of verifying commuter vehicle occupancy, comprising: a serverhaving a processor in wireless communication with one or more mobiledevices; a user interface; a locator process residing in said server andoperative to determine the physical locations of said mobile devices;the server operative to determine that said mobile devices areco-located within a vehicle; said server verifying said co-location ofsaid mobile devices by detecting a number of Radio Frequency (RF)signals from said one or more mobile devices at a validation point, andverifying that the number of RF signals detected equals a number of saidone or more mobile devices within said vehicle; deliveringcommunications from the server to a secondary server; a passengerlocated within said commuter vehicle collecting a digital photograph ofall occupants in said commuter vehicle at said validation point;transmitting said digital photograph to said server to verify that anumber of occupants in said commuter vehicle is equal to or greater thanthe number of RF signals detected within said commuter vehicle; anddelivering communications in the form of a push notification from theserver to individuals associated with said mobile devices and requiringa response from each of said individuals receiving said pushnotifications.
 8. The system of claim 7, where proximity conforms to thevalue of being within a pre-determined distance of the driver of a motorvehicle.
 9. The system of claim 7, where the determination of saidproximity of said physical locations is made in part throughidentification GPS coordinates for the physical location of said one ormore mobile devices as being within a pre-set physical boundary thatcorresponds to a motor vehicle.
 10. The system of claim 7, furthercomprising a camera operative to deliver one or more time-stampeddigital communications from one or more of said mobile devices to saidserver; and the server further determining the vehicle occupancy byanalyzing said digital communications.
 11. The system of claim 7, wherecommunication to said secondary server serves as communication with avehicle regulatory body such as a department of motor vehicles,department of transportation, or other identified authority.
 12. Thesystem of claim 7 where the mobile devices include any device equippedwith a radio frequency (RF) transmitter capability.